As many authors highlight, the distinction of consonants and vowels in the English language

withstands its own level of complexity. As Roach states, regarding vowels and consonants “it
is not easy to define exactly what they mean”. Both Roach and Underhill present the most
agreed upon definition that implies that vowels, as opposed to consonants, are produced
with no obstruction of the airflow. However, both authors are quick to point out that this
definition does not account for all sounds that are generally considered “consonants”.
Underhill introduces a definition that mentions how consonants and vowels in English tend to
be distributed in which consonants mark the beginnings and ends of syllables, while vowels
occur at the centers of them. Yet, when analyzing words like “wet”, or “yet”, we find that there
is little obstruction of the airflow in the beginning sounds of these words. The english sounds
/j/ and /w/ are therefore considered “semi-vowels”, as they take characteristics of both
consonants and vowels.

Concerning Mott, he states that the role of the syllable should be considered when analyzing
the distinction between vowels and consonants. He mentions that syllables consist of three
distinctive parts: onset, syllabic nucleus, and coda. The onset would consist of a consonant
or a group thereof, the syllabic nucleus would be a vowel, and the coda would then again, be
a consonant or a group of consonants. The idea is that the vowel of the nucleus is the peak
of prominence of the syllable, which is “bounded on either side by less prominent sounds”,
meaning the consonants, as the following examples demonstrate:

Word ONSET NUCLEUS CODA

School sk u l

Sing s ɪ ŋ